[Illustration]
[Illustration: لا لابرار كلّ شي تبر]
"TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE."
(Puris omnia pura)
—_Arab Proverb._
"Niuna corrotta mente intese mai sanamente parole."
—"_Decameron_"—_conclusion_.
"Erubuit, posuitque meum Lucretia librum
Sed coram Bruto. Brute! recede, leget."
—_Martial._
"Mieulx est de ris que de larmes escripre,
Pour ce que rire est le propre des hommes."
—RABELAIS.
"The pleasure we derive from perusing the Thousand-and-One Stories makes
us regret that we possess only a comparatively small part of these truly
enchanting fictions."
—CRICHTON'S "_History of Arabia_."
[Illustration]
_A PLAIN AND LITERAL TRANSLATION OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS.
NOW ENTITULED_
_THE BOOK OF THE_
=Thousand Nights and a Night=
_WITH INTRODUCTION EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF MOSLEM MEN AND A
TERMINAL ESSAY UPON THE HISTORY OF THE
NIGHTS_
VOLUME III.
BY
RICHARD F. BURTON
[Illustration]
PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Shammar Edition
Limited to one thousand numbered sets, of which this is
Number _547_
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
Inscribed to the Memory
OF
A FRIEND
WHO
DURING A FRIENDSHIP OF TWENTY-SIX YEARS
EVER SHOWED ME THE MOST
UNWEARIED KINDNESS
Richard Monckton Milnes
Baron Houghton.
CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
PAGE
CONTINUATION OF THE TALE OF KING OMAR BIN AL-NU'UMAN AND HIS
SONS SHARRKAN AND ZAU AL-MAKAN.
_aa._ CONTINUATION OF THE TALE OF AZIZ AND AZIZAH 1
_ab._ CONCLUSION OF THE TALE OF KING OMAR BIN 48
AL-NU'UMAN AND HIS SONS SHARRKAN AND ZAU
AL-MAKAN
_b._ TALE OF THE HASHISH-EATER 91
_c._ TALE OF HAMMAD THE BADAWI 104
1. THE BIRDS AND BEASTS AND THE CARPENTER 114
(_Lane, II. 52-59. The Fable of the Peacock and Peahen, the Duck, the
Young Lion, the Ass, the Horse, the Camel, and the Carpenter, etc._)
2. THE HERMITS 125
3. THE WATER-FOWL AND THE TORTOISE 129
4. THE WOLF AND THE FOX 132
(_Lane, II. 59-69. The Fable of the Fox and the Wolf._)
_a._ TALE OF THE FALCON AND THE PARTRIDGE 138
5. THE MOUSE AND THE ICHNEUMON 147
6. THE CAT AND THE CROW 149
7. THE FOX AND THE CROW 150
_a._ THE FLEA AND THE MOUSE 151
_b._ THE SAKER AND THE BIRDS 154
_c._ THE SPARROW AND THE EAGLE 155
8. THE HEDGEHOG AND THE WOOD PIGEONS 156
_a._ THE MERCHANT AND THE TWO SHARPERS 158
9. THE THIEF AND HIS MONKEY 159
THE FOOLISH WEAVER _ib._
10. THE SPARROW AND THE PEACOCK 161
11. ALI BIN BAKKAR AND SHAMS AL-NAHAR 162
(_Lane, Vol. II., Chapt. ix. Story of Alee the Son of Bakkar, and
Shams en-Nahár, p. 1._)
12. TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN 212
(_Lane, Chapt. x. Story of the Prince Kamar ez-Zeman and the Princess
Budur, p. 78 and ibid. p. 149._
_Story of the Two Princes El-Amjad and El-As'ad, p. 149._)
CONTINUATION OF THE TALE OF KING OMAR BIN AL-NU'UMAN
AND HIS SONS SHARRKAN AND ZAU AL-MAKAN.
Now when it was the Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
Shahrazad continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Aziz
pursued to Taj al-Muluk:—Then I entered the flower-garden and made for
the pavilion, where I found the daughter of Dalilah, the Wily One,
sitting with head on knee and hand to cheek. Her colour was changed and
her eyes were sunken; but, when she saw me, she exclaimed, "Praised be
Allah for thy safety!" And she was minded to rise but fell down for joy.
I was abashed before her and hung my head; presently, however, I went up
to her and kissed her and asked, "How knewest thou that I should come to
thee this very night?" She answered, "I knew it not! By Allah, this
whole year past I have not tasted the taste of sleep, but have watched
through every night, expecting thee; and such hath been my case since
the day thou wentest out from me and I gave thee the new suit of
clothes, and thou promisedst me to go to the Hammam and to come back! So
I sat awaiting thee that night and a second night and a third night; but
thou camest not till after so great delay, and I ever expecting thy
coming; for this is lovers' way. And now I would have thee tell me what
hath been the cause of thine absence from me the past year long?" So I
told her. And when she knew that I was married, her colour waxed yellow,
and I added, "I have come to thee this night but I must leave thee
before day." Quoth she, "Doth it not suffice her that she tricked thee
into marrying her and kept thee prisoner with her a whole year, but she
must also make thee swear by the oath of divorce, that thou wilt return
to her on the same night before morning, and not allow thee to divert
thyself with thy mother or me, nor suffer thee to pass one night with
either of us, away from her? How then must it be with one from whom thou
hast been absent a full year, and I knew thee before she did? But Allah
have mercy on thy cousin Azizah, for there befel her what never befel
any and she bore what none other ever bore and she died by thy
ill-usage; yet 'twas she who protected thee against me. Indeed, I
thought thou didst love me, so I let thee take thine own way; else had I
not suffered thee to go safe in a sound skin, when I had it in my power
to clap thee in jail and even to slay thee." Then she wept with sore
weeping and waxed wroth and shuddered in my face with skin bristling[1]
and looked at me with furious eyes. When I saw her in this case I was
terrified at her and my side-muscles trembled and quivered, for she was
like a dreadful she-Ghul, an ogress in ire, and I like a bean over the
fire. Then said she, "Thou art of no use to me, now thou art married and
hast a child; nor art thou any longer fit for my company; I care only
for bachelors and not for married men:[2] these profit us nothing. Thou
hast sold me for yonder stinking armful; but, by Allah, I will make the
whore's heart ache for thee, and thou shalt not live either for me or
for her!" Then she cried a loud cry and, ere I could think, up came the
slave-girls and threw me on the ground; and when I was helpless under
their hands she rose and, taking a knife, said, "I will cut thy throat
as they slaughter he-goats; and that will be less than thy desert, for
thy doings to me and the daughter of thy uncle before me. When I looked
to my life and found myself at the mercy of her slave-women, with my
cheeks dust-soiled, and saw her sharpen the knife, I made sure of
death"——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan
thus continued his tale to Zau al-Makan:—Then quoth the youth Aziz to
Taj al-Muluk, Now when I found my life at the mercy of her slave-women
with my cheeks dust-soiled, and I saw her sharpen the knife, I made sure
of death and cried out to her for mercy. But she only redoubled in
ferocity and ordered the slave-girls to pinion my hands behind me, which
they did; and, throwing me on my back, she seated herself on my middle
and held down my head. Then two of them came up and squatted on my
shin-bones, whilst other two grasped my hands and arms; and she summoned
a third pair and bade them beat me. So they beat me till I fainted and
my voice failed. When I revived, I said to myself, "'Twere easier and
better for me to have my gullet slit than to be beaten on this wise!"
And I remembered the words of my cousin, and how she used to say to me,
"Allah, keep thee from her mischief!"; and I shrieked and wept till my
voice failed and I remained without power to breathe or to move. Then
she again whetted the knife and said to the slave-girls, "Uncover him."
Upon this the Lord inspired me to repeat to her the two phrases my
cousin had taught me, and had bequeathed to me, and I said, "O my lady,
dost thou not know that Faith is fair, Unfaith is foul?" When she heard
this, she cried out and said, "Allah pity thee, Azizah, and give thee
Paradise in exchange for thy wasted youth! By Allah, of a truth she
served thee in her lifetime and after her death, and now she hath saved
thee alive out of my hands with these two saws. Nevertheless, I cannot
by any means leave thee thus, but needs must I set my mark on thee, to
spite yonder brazen-faced piece, who hath kept thee from me." Thereupon
she called out to the slave-women and bade them bind my feet with cords
and then said to them, "Take seat on him!" They did her bidding, upon
which she arose and fetched a pan of copper and hung it over the brazier
and poured into it oil of sesame, in which she fried cheese.[3] Then she
came up to me (and I still insensible) and, unfastening my bag-trousers,
tied a cord round my testicles and, giving it to two of her women, bade
them hawl at it. They did so, and I swooned away and was for excess of
pain in a world other than this. Then she came with a razor of steel and
cut off my member masculine,[4] so that I remained like a woman: after
which she seared the wound with the boiling oil and rubbed it with a
powder, and I the while unconscious. Now when I came to myself, the
blood had stopped; so she bade the slave-girls unbind me and made me
drink a cup of wine. Then said she to me, "Go now to her whom thou hast
married and who grudged me a single night, and the mercy of Allah be on
thy cousin Azizah, who saved thy life and never told her secret love!
Indeed, haddest thou not repeated those words to me, I had surely slit
thy weasand. Go forth this instant to whom thou wilt, for I needed
naught of thee save what I have just cut off; and now I have no part in
thee, nor have I any further want of thee or care for thee. So begone
about thy business and rub thy head[5] and implore mercy for the
daughter of thine uncle!" Thereupon she kicked me with her foot and I
rose, hardly able to walk; and I went, little by little, till I came to
the door of our house. I saw it was open, so I threw myself within it
and fell down in a fainting-fit; whereupon my wife came out and lifting
me up, carried me into the saloon and assured herself that I had become
like a woman. Then I fell into a sleep and a deep sleep; and when I
awoke, I found myself thrown down at the garden gate,——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan
pursued to King Zau al-Makan, The youth Aziz thus continued his story to
Taj al-Muluk:—When I awoke and found myself thrown down at the
garden-gate, I rose, groaning for pain and misery, and made my way to
our home and entering, I came upon my mother weeping for me, and saying,
"Would I knew, O my son, in what land art thou!" So I drew near and
threw myself upon her, and when she looked at me and felt me, she knew
that I was ill; for my face was coloured black and tan. Then I thought
of my cousin and all the kind offices she had been wont to do me, and I
learned when too late that she had truly loved me; so I wept for her and
my mother wept also. Presently she said to me, "O my son, thy sire is
dead." At this my fury against Fate redoubled, and I cried till I fell
into a fit. When I came to myself, I looked at the place where my cousin
Azizah had been used to sit and shed tears anew, till I all but fainted
once more for excess of weeping; and I ceased not to cry and sob and
wail till midnight, when my mother said to me, "Thy father hath been
dead these ten days." "I shall never think of any one but my cousin
Azizah," replied I; "and indeed I deserve all that hath befallen me, for
that I neglected her who loved me with love so dear." Asked she, "What
hath befallen thee?" So I told her all that had happened and she wept
awhile, then she rose and set some matter of meat and drink before me. I
ate a little and drank, after which I repeated my story to her, and told
her the whole occurrence; whereupon she exclaimed, "Praised be Allah,
that she did but this to thee and forbore to slaughter thee!" Then she
nursed me and medicined me till I regained my health; and, when my
recovery was complete, she said to me, "O my son, I will now bring out
to thee that which thy cousin committed to me in trust for thee; for it
is thine. She swore me not to give it thee, till I should see thee
recalling her to mind and weeping over her and thy connection severed
from other than herself; and now I know that these conditions are
fulfilled in thee." So she arose, and opening a chest, took out this
piece of linen, with the figures of gazelles worked thereon, which I had
given to Azizah in time past; and taking it I found written therein
these couplets:—
Lady of beauty, say, who taught thee hard and harsh design, ✿ To slay
with longing Love's excess this hapless lover thine?
An thou fain disremember me beyond our parting day, ✿ Allah will know,
that thee and thee my memory never shall tyne.
Thou blamest me with bitter speech yet sweetest 'tis to me; ✿ Wilt
generous be and deign one day to show of love a sign?
I had not reckoned Love contained so much of pine and pain; ✿ And soul
distress until I came for thee to pain and pine;
Never my heart knew weariness, until that eve I fell ✿ In love wi' thee,
and prostrate fell before those glancing eyne!
My very foes have mercy on my case and moan therefor; ✿ But thou, O
heart of Indian steel, all mercy dost decline.
No, never will I be consoled, by Allah, an I die, ✿ Nor yet forget the
love of thee though life in ruins lie!
When I read these couplets, I wept with sore weeping and buffeted my
face; then I unfolded the scroll, and there fell from it another paper.
I opened it and behold, I found written therein, "Know, O son of my
uncle, that I acquit thee of my blood and I beseech Allah to make accord
between thee and her whom thou lovest; but if aught befal thee through
the daughter of Dalilah the Wily, return thou not to her neither resort
to any other woman and patiently bear thine affliction, for were not thy
fated life-tide a long life, thou hadst perished long ago; but praised
be Allah who hath appointed my death-day before thine! My peace be upon
thee; preserve this cloth with the gazelles herein figured and let it
not leave thee, for it was my companion when thou was absent from
me;"——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan
pursued to King Zau al-Makan, And the youth Aziz continued to Taj
al-Muluk:—So I read what my cousin had written and the charge to me
which was, "Preserve this cloth with the gazelles and let it not leave
thee, for it was my companion when thou wast absent from me and, Allah
upon thee! if thou chance to fall in with her who worked these gazelles,
hold aloof from her and do not let her approach thee nor marry her; and
if thou happen not on her and find no way to her, look thou consort not
with any of her sex. Know that she who wrought these gazelles worketh
every year a gazelle-cloth and despatcheth it to far countries, that her
report and the beauty of her broidery, which none in the world can
match, may be bruited abroad. As for thy beloved, the daughter of
Dalilah the Wily, this cloth came to her hand, and she used to ensnare
folk with it, showing it to them and saying, I have a sister who wrought
this. But she lied in so saying, Allah rend her veil! This is my parting
counsel; and I have not charged thee with this charge, but because I
know[6] that after my death the world will be straitened on thee and,
haply, by reason of this, thou wilt leave thy native land and wander in
foreign parts, and hearing of her who wrought these figures, thou mayest
be minded to foregather with her. Then wilt thou remember me, when the
memory shall not avail thee; nor wilt thou know my worth till after my
death. And, lastly, learn that she who wrought the gazelles is the
daughter of the King of the Camphor Islands and a lady of the noblest."
Now when I had read that scroll and understood what was written therein,
I fell again to weeping, and my mother wept because I wept, and I ceased
not to gaze upon it and to shed tears till nightfall. I abode in this
condition a whole year, at the end of which the merchants, with whom I
am in this cafilah, prepared to set out from my native town; and my
mother counselled me to equip myself and journey with them, so haply I
might be consoled and my sorrow be dispelled, saying, "Take comfort and
put away from thee this mourning and travel for a year or two or three,
till the caravan return, when perhaps thy breast may be broadened and
thy heart heartened." And she ceased not to persuade me with endearing
words, till I provided myself with merchandise and set out with the
caravan. But all the time of my wayfaring, my tears have never dried;
no, never! and at every halting place where we halt, I open this piece
of linen and look on these gazelles and call to mind my cousin Azizah
and weep for her as thou hast seen; for indeed she loved me with dearest
love and died, oppressed by my unlove. I did her nought but ill and she
did me nought but good. When these merchants return from their journey,
I shall return with them, by which time I shall have been absent a whole
year: yet hath my sorrow waxed greater and my grief and affliction were
but increased by my visit to the Islands of Camphor and the Castle of
Crystal. Now these islands are seven in number and are ruled by a King,
by name Shahriman,[7] who hath a daughter called Dunyá;[8] and I was
told that it was she who wrought these gazelles and that this piece in
my possession was of her embroidery. When I knew this, my yearning
redoubled and I burnt with the slow fire of pining and was drowned in
the sea of sad thought; and I wept over myself for that I was become
even as a woman, without manly tool like other men, and there was no
help for it. From the day of my quitting the Camphor Islands, I have
been tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted, and such hath been my case for a
long while and I know not whether it will be given me to return to my
native land and die beside my mother or not; for I am sick from eating
too much of the world. Thereupon the young merchant wept and groaned and
complained and gazed upon the gazelles; whilst the tears rolled down his
cheeks in streams and he repeated these two couplets:—
"Joy needs shall come," a prattler 'gan to prattle: ✿ "Needs cease thy
blame!" I was commoved to rattle:
"In time," quoth he: quoth I "'Tis marvellous! ✿ Who shall ensure my
life, O cold of tattle!"[9]
And he repeated also these:—
Well Allah weets that since our severance-day ✿ I've wept till forced to
ask of tears a loan:
"Patience! (the blamer cries): thou'lt have her yet!" ✿ Quoth I, "O
blamer where may patience wone?"
Then said he, "This, O King! is my tale: hast thou ever heard one
stranger?" So Taj al-Muluk marvelled with great marvel at the young
merchant's story, and fire darted into his entrails on hearing the name
of the Lady Dunya and her loveliness. ——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan
continued to Zau al-Makan:—Now when Taj al-Muluk heard the story of the
young merchant, he marvelled with great marvel and fire darted into his
entrails on hearing the name of the Lady Dunya who, as he knew, had
embroidered the gazelles; and his love and longing hourly grew, so he
said to the youth, "By Allah, that hath befallen thee whose like never
befel any save thyself, but thou hast a life-term appointed, which thou
must fulfil; and now I would fain ask of thee a question." Quoth Aziz,
"And what is it?" Quoth he, "Wilt thou tell me how thou sawest the young
lady who wrought these gazelles?" Then he, "O my lord, I got me access
to her by a sleight and it was this. When I entered her city with the
caravan, I went forth and wandered about the garths till I came to a
flower-garden abounding in trees, whose keeper was a venerable old man,
a Shaykh stricken in years. I addressed him, saying, O ancient sir,
whose may be this garden? and he replied, It belongs to the King's
daughter, the Lady Dunya. We are now beneath her palace and, when she is
minded to amuse herself, she openeth the private wicket and walketh in
the garden and smelleth the fragrance of the flowers. So I said to him,
Favour me by allowing me to sit in this garden till she come; haply I
may enjoy a sight of her as she passeth. The Shaykh answered, There can
be no harm in that. Thereupon I gave him a dirham or so and said to him,
Buy us something to eat. He took the money gladly and opened the door
and, entering himself, admitted me into the garden, where we strolled
and ceased not strolling till we reached a pleasant spot in which he
bade me sit down and await his going and his returning. Then he brought
me somewhat of fruit and, leaving me, disappeared for an hour; but after
a while he returned to me bringing a roasted lamb, of which we ate till
we had eaten enough, my heart yearning the while for a sight of the
lady. Presently, as we sat, the postern opened and the keeper said to
me, Rise and hide thee. I did so; and behold, a black eunuch put his
head out through the garden-wicket and asked, O Shaykh, is there any one
with thee? No, answered he; and the eunuch said, Shut the garden gate.
So the keeper shut the gate, and lo! the Lady Dunya came in by the
private door. When I saw her, methought the moon had risen above the
horizon and was shining; so I looked at her a full hour and longed for
her as one athirst longeth for water. After a while she withdrew and
shut the door; whereupon I left the garden and sought my lodging,
knowing that I could not get at her and that I was no man for her, more
especially as I was become like a woman, having no manly tool: moreover
she was a King's daughter and I but a merchant man; so how could I have
access to the like of her or—to any other woman? Accordingly, when these
my companions made ready for the road, I also made preparation and set
out with them, and we journeyed towards this city till we arrived at the
place where we met with thee. Thou askest me and I have answered; and
these are my adventures and peace be with thee!" Now when Taj al-Muluk
heard that account, fires raged in his bosom and his heart and thought
were occupied with love for the Lady Dunya; and passion and longing were
sore upon him. Then he arose and mounted horse and, taking Aziz with
him, returned to his father's capital, where he settled him in a
separate house and supplied him with all he needed in the way of meat
and drink and dress. Then he left him and returned to his palace, with
the tears trickling down his cheeks, for hearing oftentimes standeth in
stead of seeing and knowing.[10] And he ceased not to be in this state
till his father came in to him and finding him wan-faced, lean of limb
and tearful-eyed, knew that something had occurred to chagrin him and
said, "O my son, acquaint me with thy case and tell me what hath
befallen thee, that thy colour is changed and thy body is wasted." So he
told him all that had passed and what tale he had heard of Aziz and the
account of the Princess Dunya; and how he had fallen in love of her on
hearsay, without having set eyes on her. Quoth his sire, "O my son, she
is the daughter of a King whose land is far from ours: so put away this
thought and go in to thy mother's palace"——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan
continued to Zau al-Makan:—And the father of Taj al-Muluk spake to him
on this wise, "O my son, her father is a King whose land is far from
ours: so put away this thought and go into thy mother's palace where are
five hundred maidens like moons, and whichsoever of them pleaseth thee,
take her; or else we will seek for thee in marriage some one of the
King's daughters, fairer than the Lady Dunya." Answered Taj al-Muluk, "O
my father, I desire none other, for she it is who wrought the gazelles
which I saw, and there is no help but that I have her; else I will flee
into the wold and the waste and I will slay myself for her sake." Then
said his father, "Have patience with me, till I send to her sire and
demand her in marriage, and win thee thy wish as I did for myself with
thy mother. Haply Allah will bring thee to thy desire; and, if her
parent will not consent, I will make his kingdom quake under him with an
army, whose rear shall be with me whilst its van shall be upon him."
Then he sent for the youth Aziz and asked him, "O my son, tell me dost
thou know the way to the Camphor Islands?" He answered "Yes"; and the
King said, "I desire of thee that thou fare with my Wazir thither."
Replied Aziz, "I hear and I obey, O King of the Age!"; whereupon the
King summoned his Minister and said to him, "Devise me some device,
whereby my son's affair may be rightly managed, and fare thou forth to
the Camphor Islands and demand of their King his daughter in marriage
for my son, Taj al-Muluk." The Wazir replied, "Hearkening and
obedience." Then Taj al-Muluk returned to his dwelling-place and his
love and longing redoubled and the delay seemed endless to him; and when
the night darkened around him, he wept and sighed and complained and
repeated this poetry:—
Dark falls the night: my tears unaided rail ✿ And fiercest flames of
love my heart assail:
Ask thou the nights of me, and they shall tell ✿ An I find aught to do
but weep and wail:
Night-long awake, I watch the stars what while ✿ Pour down my cheeks the
tears like dropping hail:
And lone and lorn I'm grown with none to aid; ✿ For kith and kin the
love-lost lover fail.
And when he had ended his reciting he swooned away and did not recover
his senses till the morning, at which time there came to him one of his
father's eunuchs and, standing at his head, summoned him to the King's
presence. So he went with him and his father, seeing that his pallor had
increased, exhorted him to patience and promised him union with her he
loved. Then he equipped Aziz and the Wazir and supplied them with
presents; and they set out and fared on day and night till they drew
near the Isles of Camphor, where they halted on the banks of a stream,
and the Minister despatched a messenger to acquaint the King of his
arrival. The messenger hurried forwards and had not been gone more than
an hour, before they saw the King's Chamberlains and Emirs advancing
towards them, to meet them at a parasang's distance from the city and
escort them into the royal presence. They laid their gifts before the
King and became his guests for three days. And on the fourth day the
Wazir rose and going in to the King, stood between his hands and
acquainted him with the object which induced his visit; whereat he was
perplexed for an answer inasmuch as his daughter misliked men and
disliked marriage. So he bowed his head groundwards awhile, then raised
it and calling one of his eunuchs, said to him, "Go to thy mistress, the
Lady Dunya, and repeat to her what thou hast heard and the purport of
this Wazir's coming." So the eunuch went forth and returning after a
time, said to the King, "O King of the Age, when I went in to the Lady
Dunya and told her what I had heard, she was wroth with exceeding wrath
and rose at me with a staff designing to break my head; so I fled from
her, and she said to me:—If my Father force me to wed him, whomsoever I
wed I will slay." Then said her sire to the Wazir and Aziz, "Ye have
heard, and now ye know all! So let your King wot of it and give him my
salutations and say that my daughter misliketh men and disliketh
marriage."——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Shahriman
thus addressed the Wazir and Aziz, "Salute your King from me and inform
him of what ye have heard, namely that my daughter misliketh marriage."
So they turned away unsuccessful and ceased not faring on till they
rejoined the King and told him what had passed; whereupon he commanded
the chief officers to summon the troops and get them ready for marching
and campaigning. But the Wazir said to him, "O my liege Lord, do not
thus: the King is not at fault because, when his daughter learnt our
business, she sent a message saying, If my father force me to wed,
whomsoever I wed I will slay and myself after him. So the refusal cometh
from her." When the King heard his Minister's words he feared for Taj
al-Muluk and said, "Verily if I make war on the King of the Camphor
Islands and carry off his daughter, she will kill herself and it will
avail me naught." Then he told his son how the case stood, who hearing
it said, "O my father, I cannot live without her; so I will go to her
and contrive to get at her, even though I die in the attempt, and this
only will I do and nothing else." Asked his father, "How wilt thou go to
her?" and he answered, "I will go in the guise of a merchant."[11] Then
said the King, "If thou need must go and there is no help for it, take
with thee the Wazir and Aziz." Then he brought out money from his
treasuries and made ready for his son merchandise to the value of an
hundred thousand dinars. The two had settled upon this action; and when
the dark hours came Taj al-Muluk and Aziz went to Aziz's lodgings and
there passed that night, and the Prince was heart-smitten, taking no
pleasure in food or in sleep; for melancholy was heavy upon him and he
was agitated with longing for his beloved. So he besought the Creator
that he would vouchsafe to unite him with her and he wept and groaned
and wailed and began versifying:—
Union, this severance ended, shall I see some day? ✿ Then shall my tears
this love-lorn lot of me portray.
While night all care forgets I only minded thee, ✿ And thou didst gar me
wake while all forgetful lay.
And when his improvising came to an end, he wept with sore weeping and
Aziz wept with him, for that he remembered his cousin; and they both
ceased not to shed tears till morning dawned, whereupon Taj al-Muluk
rose and went to farewell his mother, in travelling dress. She asked him
of his case and he repeated the story to her; so she gave him fifty
thousand gold pieces and bade him adieu; and, as he fared forth, she put
up prayers for his safety and for his union with his lover and his
friends. Then he betook himself to his father and asked his leave to
depart. The King granted him permission and, presenting him with other
fifty thousand dinars, bade set up a tent for him without the city and
they pitched a pavilion wherein the travellers abode two days. Then all
set out on their journey. Now Taj al-Muluk delighted in the company of
Aziz and said to him, "O my brother, henceforth I can never part from
thee." Replied Aziz, "And I am of like mind and fain would I die under
thy feet: but, O my brother, my heart is concerned for my mother." "When
we shall have won our wish," said the Prince, "there will be naught save
what is well!" Now the Wazir continued charging Taj al-Muluk to be
patient, whilst Aziz entertained him every evening with talk and recited
poetry to him and diverted him with histories and anecdotes. And so they
fared on diligently night and day for two whole months, till the way
became tedious to Taj al-Muluk and the fire of desire redoubled on him;
and he broke out:—
The road is longsome; grow my grief and need, ✿ While on my breast
love-fires for ever feed:
Goal of my hopes, sole object of my wish! ✿ By him who moulded man from
drop o' seed,
I bear such loads of longing for thy love, ✿ Dearest, as weight of
al-Shumm Mounts exceed:
O 'Lady of my World,'[12] Love does me die; ✿ No breath of life is left
for life to plead;
But for the union-hope that lends me strength, ✿ My weary limbs were
weak this way to speed.
When he had finished his verses, he wept (and Aziz wept with him) from a
wounded heart, till the Minister was moved to pity by their tears and
said, "O my lord, be of good cheer and keep thine eyes clear of tears;
there will be naught save what is well!" Quoth Taj al-Muluk, "O Wazir,
indeed I am weary of the length of the way. Tell me how far we are yet
distant from the city." Quoth Aziz, "But a little way remaineth to us."
Then they continued their journey, cutting across river-vales and
plains, wolds and stony wastes, till one night, as Taj al-Muluk was
sleeping, he dreamt that his beloved was with him and that he embraced
her and pressed her to his bosom; and he awoke quivering, shivering with
pain, delirious with emotion, and improvised these verses:—
Dear friend, my tears aye flow these cheeks adown, ✿ With longsome pain
and pine, my sorrow's crown:
I plain like keening woman child bereft, ✿ And as night falls like
widow-dove I groan:
An blow the breeze from land where thou dost wone, ✿ I find o'er
sunburnt earth sweet coolness blown.
Peace be wi' thee, my love, while zephyr breathes, ✿ And cushat flies
and turtle makes her moan.
And when he had ended his versifying, the Wazir came to him and said,
"Rejoice; this is a good sign: so be of good cheer and keep thine eyes
cool and clear, for thou shalt surely compass thy desire." And Aziz also
came to him and exhorted him to patience and applied himself to divert
him, talking with him and telling him tales. So they pressed on,
marching day and night, other two months, till there appeared to them
one day at sunrise some white thing in the distance and Taj al-Muluk
said to Aziz, "What is yonder whiteness?" He replied, "O my lord! yonder
is the Castle of Crystal and that is the city thou seekest." At this the
Prince rejoiced, and they ceased not faring forwards till they drew near
the city and, as they approached it, Taj al-Muluk joyed with exceeding
joy, and his care ceased from him. They entered in trader guise, the
King's son being habited as a merchant of importance; and repaired to a
great Khan, known as the Merchants' Lodging. Quoth Taj al-Muluk to Aziz,
"Is this the resort of the merchants?"; and quoth he, "Yes; 'tis the
Khan wherein I lodged before." So they alighted there and making their
baggage-camels kneel, unloaded them and stored their goods in the
warehouses.[13] They abode four days for rest; when the Wazir advised
that they should hire a large house. To this they assented and they
found them a spacious house, fitted up for festivities, where they took
up their abode, and the Wazir and Aziz studied to devise some device for
Taj al-Muluk, who remained in a state of perplexity, knowing not what to
do. Now the Minister could think of nothing but that he should set up as
a merchant on 'Change and in the market of fine stuffs; so he turned to
the Prince and his companion and said to them, "Know ye that if we tarry
here on this wise, assuredly we shall not win our wish nor attain our
aim; but a something occurred to me whereby (if Allah please!) we shall
find our advantage." Replied Taj al-Muluk and Aziz, "Do what seemeth
good to thee, indeed there is a blessing on the grey-beard; more
specially on those who, like thyself, are conversant with the conduct of
affairs: so tell us what occurreth to thy mind." Rejoined the Wazir, "It
is my counsel that we hire thee a shop in the stuff-bazar, where thou
mayst sit to sell and buy. Every one, great and small, hath need of
silken stuffs and other cloths; so if thou patiently abide in thy shop,
thine affairs will prosper, Inshallah! more by token as thou art comely
of aspect. Make, however, Aziz thy factor and set him within the shop,
to hand thee the pieces of cloth and stuffs." When Taj al-Muluk heard
these words, he said, "This rede is right and a right pleasant recking."
So he took out a handsome suit of merchant's weed, and, putting it on,
set out for the bazar, followed by his servants, to one of whom he had
given a thousand dinars, wherewith to fit up the shop. They ceased not
walking till they came to the stuff-market, and when the merchants saw
Taj al-Muluk's beauty and grace, they were confounded and went about
saying, "Of a truth Rizwán[14] hath opened the gates of Paradise and
left them unguarded, so that this youth of passing comeliness hath come
forth." And others, "Peradventure this is one of the angels." Now when
they went in among the traders they asked for the shop of the Overseer
of the market and the merchants directed them thereto. So they delayed
not to repair thither and to salute him, and he and those who were with
him rose to them and seated them and made much of them, because of the
Wazir, whom they saw to be a man in years and of reverend aspect; and
viewing the youths Aziz and Taj al-Muluk in his company, they said to
one another, "Doubtless our Shaykh is the father of these two youths."
Then quoth the Wazir, "Who among you is the Overseer of the market?"
"This is he," replied they; and behold, he came forward and the Wazir
observed him narrowly and saw him to be an old man of grave and
dignified carriage, with eunuchs and servants and black slaves. The
Syndic greeted them with the greeting of friends and was lavish in his
attentions to them: then he seated them by his side and asked them,
"Have ye any business which we[15] may have the happiness of
transacting?" The Minister answered, "Yes; I am an old man, stricken in
years, and have with me these two youths, with whom I have travelled
through every town and country, entering no great city without tarrying
there a full year, that they might take their pleasure in viewing it and
come to know its citizens. Now I have visited your town intending to
sojourn here for a while; so I want of thee a handsome shop in the best
situation, wherein I may establish them, that they may traffic and learn
to buy and sell and give and take, whilst they divert themselves with
the sight of the place, and become familiar with the usages of its
people." Quoth the Overseer, "There is no harm in that;" and, looking at
the two youths, he was delighted with them and affected them with a warm
affection. Now he was a great connoisseur of bewitching glances,
preferring the love of boys to that of girls and inclining to the sour
rather than the sweet of love. So he said to himself, "This, indeed, is
fine game. Glory be to Him who created and fashioned them out of vile
water!"[16] and rising, stood before them like a servant to do them
honour. Then he went out and made ready for them a shop which was in the
very midst of the Exchange; nor was there any larger or better in the
bazar, for it was spacious and handsomely decorated and fitted with
shelves of ivory and ebony wood. After this he delivered the keys to the
Wazir, who was dressed as an old merchant, saying, "Take them, O my
lord, and Allah make it a blessed abiding-place to thy two sons!" The
Minister took the keys and the three returning to the Khan where they
had alighted, bade the servants transport to the shop all their goods
and stuffs.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir
took the shop keys, he went accompanied by Taj al-Muluk and Aziz to the
Khan, and they bade the servants transport to the shop all their goods
and stuffs and valuables of which they had great store worth treasures
of money. And when all this was duly done, they went to the shop and
ordered their stock in trade and slept there that night. As soon as
morning morrowed the Wazir took the two young men to the Hammam-bath
where they washed them clean; and they donned rich dresses and scented
themselves with essences and enjoyed themselves to the utmost. Now each
of the youths was passing fair to look upon, and in the bath they were
even as saith the poet:—
Luck to the Rubber, whose deft hand o'erflies ✿ A frame begotten twixt
the lymph and light:[17]
He shows the thaumaturgy of his craft, ✿ And gathers musk in form of
camphor dight.[18]
After bathing they left; and, when the Overseer heard that they had gone
to the Hammam, he sat down to await the twain, and presently they came
up to him like two gazelles; their cheeks were reddened by the bath and
their eyes were darker than ever; their faces shone and they were as two
lustrous moons or two branches fruit-laden. Now when he saw them he rose
forthright and said to them, "O my sons, may your bath profit you
alway!"[19] Whereupon Taj al-Muluk replied, with the sweetest of speech,
"Allah be bountiful to thee, O my father; why didst thou not come with
us and bathe in our company?" Then they both bent over his right hand
and kissed it and walked before him to the shop, to entreat him
honourably and show their respect for him, for that he was Chief of the
Merchants and the market, and he had done them kindness in giving them
the shop. When he saw their hips quivering as they moved, desire and
longing redoubled on him; and he puffed and snorted and he devoured them
with his eyes, for he could not contain himself, repeating the while
these two couplets:—
Here the heart reads a chapter of devotion pure; ✿ Nor reads dispute if
Heaven in worship partner take:
No wonder 'tis he trembles walking 'neath such weight! ✿ How much of
movement that revolving sphere must make.[20]
Furthermore he said:—
I saw two charmers treading humble earth. ✿ Two I must love an tread
they on mine eyes.
When they heard this, they conjured him to enter the bath with them a
second time. He could hardly believe his ears and hastening thither,
went in with them. The Wazir had not yet left the bath; so when he heard
of the Overseer's coming, he came out and meeting him in the middle of
the bath-hall invited him to enter. He refused, whereupon Taj al-Muluk
taking him by the hand walked on one side and Aziz by the other, and
carried him into a cabinet; and that impure old man submitted to them,
whilst his emotion increased on him. He would have refused, albeit this
was what he desired; but the Minister said to him, "They are thy sons;
let them wash thee and cleanse thee." "Allah preserve them to thee!"
exclaimed the Overseer, "by Allah your coming and the coming of those
with you bring down blessing and good luck upon our city!" And he
repeated these two couplets:—
Thou camest and green grew the hills anew; ✿ And sweetest bloom to the
bridegroom threw,
While aloud cried Earth and her earth-borns too ✿ 'Hail and welcome who
comest with grace to endue.'
They thanked him for this, and Taj al-Muluk ceased not to wash him and
Aziz to pour water over him and he thought his soul in Paradise. When
they had made an end of his service, he blessed them and sat by the side
of the Wazir, talking but gazing the while on the youths. Presently, the
servants brought them towels, and they dried themselves and donned their
dress. Then they went out, and the Minister turned to the Syndic and
said to him, "O my lord! verily the bath is the Paradise[21] of this
world." Replied the Overseer, "Allah vouchsafe to thee such Paradise,
and health to thy sons and guard them from the evil eye! Do ye remember
aught that the eloquent have said in praise of the bath?" Quoth Taj
al-Muluk, "I will repeat for thee a pair of couplets;" and he recited:—
The life of the bath is the joy of man's life,[22] ✿ Save that time is
short for us there to bide:
A Heaven, where irksome it were to stay; ✿ A Hell, delightful at
entering-tide.
When he ended his recital, quoth Aziz, "And I also remember two couplets
in praise of the bath." The Overseer said, "Let me hear them;" so he
repeated the following:—
A house where flowers from stones of granite grow, ✿ Seen at its best
when hot with living lowe:
Thou deem'st it Hell but here, forsooth, is Heaven, ✿ And some like suns
and moons within it show.
And when he had ended his recital, his verses pleased the Overseer and
he wondered at his words and savoured their grace and facundity and said
to them, "By Allah, ye possess both beauty and eloquence. But now listen
to me, you twain!" And he began chanting, and recited in song the
following verses:—
O joy of Hell and Heaven! whose tormentry ✿ Enquickens frame and soul
with lively gree:
I marvel so delightsome house to view, ✿ And most when 'neath it kindled
fires I see:
Sojourn of bliss to visitors, withal ✿ Pools on them pour down tears
unceasingly.
Then his eye sight roamed and browsed on the gardens of their beauty and
he repeated these two couplets:—
I went to the house of the keeper-man; ✿ He was out, but others to smile
began:
I entered his Heaven[23] and then his Hell;[24] ✿ And I said "Bless
Málik[25] and bless Rizwán."[26]
When they heard these verses they were charmed, and the Overseer invited
them to his house; but they declined and returned to their own place, to
rest from the great heat of the bath. So they took their ease there and
ate and drank and passed that night in perfect solace and satisfaction,
till morning dawned, when they arose from sleep and making their lesser
ablution, prayed the dawn-prayer and drank the morning draught.[27] As
soon as the sun had risen and the shops and markets opened, they arose
and going forth from their place to the bazar opened their shop, which
their servants had already furnished, after the handsomest fashion, and
had spread with prayer-rugs and silken carpets and had placed on the
divans a pair of mattresses, each worth an hundred dinars. On every
mattress they had disposed a rug of skin fit for a King and edged with a
fringe of gold; and a-middlemost the shop stood a third seat still
richer, even as the place required. Then Taj al-Muluk sat down on one
divan, and Aziz on another, whilst the Wazir seated himself on that in
the centre, and the servants stood before them. The city people soon
heard of them and crowded about them, so that they sold some of their
goods and not a few of their stuffs; for Taj al-Muluk's beauty and
loveliness had become the talk of the town. Thus they passed a trifle of
time, and every day the people flocked to them and pressed upon them
more and more, till the Wazir, after exhorting Taj al-Muluk to keep his
secret, commended him to the care of Aziz and went home, that he might
commune with himself alone and cast about for some contrivance which
might profit them. Meanwhile, the two young men sat talking and Taj al
Muluk said to Aziz, "Haply some one will come from the Lady Dunya." So
he ceased not expecting this chance days and nights, but his heart was
troubled and he knew neither sleep nor rest; for desire had got the
mastery of him, and love and longing were sore upon him, so that he
renounced the solace of sleep and abstained from meat and drink; yet
ceased he not to be like the moon on the night of fullness. Now one day
as he sat in the shop, behold, there came up an ancient woman——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Thirty-third Night,